Almost Nothing

Brother John from Taizé was in town a few weeks ago. I was blessed to hear him speak and join in Taizé style worship while he was here.

During one of the opportunities for me to hear Brother John speak, he addressed the fact that we often feel discouraged that, in the face of tremendous suffering and injustice, we can bring "almost nothing" and when we say this, really deep down, we equate that with "nothing." We feel helpless that we can do nothing to improve the conditions of a wounded world. Brother John shared, however, that Brother Roger, the founder of Taizé, believed that "almost nothing" was actually a significant gift, and one that we are all called to give.

As Brother John relayed, Brother Roger was a "doer." Every time the community got word of a disaster or problem, Brother Roger would ask, "what can we do?" And sometimes, it meant they sent a bit of food, some money, or some brothers to help. What they did was "almost nothing." But it was not nothing, and it made a difference. And even more, large-scale efforts at aid can often become corrupted or at least co-opted by special interest groups, large overhead, greedy directors. Sometimes the large charities end up doing less than the "almost nothing" that people like you and I can bring to the world collectively.

I like this view of service. We needn't feel guilty for "not doing enough" or helpless in the face of adversity. We can bring our "almost nothing" to the table and watch it transform lives, including our own.